This is a Plumb Bob

Shattuck Hall, School of Architecture, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon
2010
Silicon bronze, silver, red oak
25' x 12' x 2'
Commissioned by Oregon Arts Commission and Portland State University

This Is a Plumb Bob was Joe Thurston's first public commission, and the beginning of the practice that became Site Specific. The sculpture is an oversized, painstakingly remade version of the simple instrument builders have relied on since ancient Egypt: a pointed weight on a string that finds true vertical, still used in surveying and construction today. Based on a plumb bob in MoMA's permanent collection, it spans two floors, connecting the design studios at the top of the building with the classrooms and workrooms below.

The work was made to give students learning to design buildings a daily reminder of orientation and perspective, and of the fundamentals every structure depends on. Over more than fifteen years it has taken on a life of its own. Students rub it for luck before exams and job interviews.